Grating



July 26, 1949. 7 w A BATES gamma Filed Dec. 21, 1945' Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 1I J INVENTOR. 6 20 Wallerflfia/af,

July26fl1949. A. Big-E 2,477,223

GRATING Filed Dec. :21, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z3 l? I 25 P mum "M. mm. mwu AIM F L INVENTOR,

WaZZar 4.544

Patented July 26,1949

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GRATING Walter A. Bates, .loliet, 111.,assignor to Beulah H. Bates, J oliet, Ill.

A li ation-December 21, 1945, Serial No. 636,433

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in gratings.

More particularly the present invention relates to improvements overUnited States Letters Patent No. 2,184,407, granted Decemb r 26', 1939,to the present applicant.

An object of the present invention is to provide a grating which whileretaining the elements of strength and the non-skid features of theprior patent above referred to has the further advantage that thegrating is held against deformation in service, though it has enoughflexibility to adapt itself to conditions encountered in service.

A further object is to provide a grating which while retaining theadvantageous features of the prior patent referred to has improvedstrength.

A further object is to provide a grating of the kind referred to whichwill lie flat upon its supports.

A further object is to provide an improved grating Well adapted to meetthe needs of commercial service and which combines the advantages abovereferred to with cheapness of. manufacture.

Further objects will appear as the descrip ion proceeds.

Referring to the drawingsure 1 is a top plan view of a rating embodyingthe principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view tak n along the plane indicated by thelines 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrows 33 ofFigure 1;

Figure 4 is a 1 Plan view illustrating a slightly modified construction;

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken along the plane indicated by thelines 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrows 66 ofFigure 4;

Figure 7 is a top plan view of another modification;

Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along a plane indicated by the arrows8--8 of Figure 7; and

Figure 9 is an end view taken in the direction of the arrows 9-9 ofFigure 7.

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFigures 1 to 3, the numerals llll0 indicate the main or longitudinalbars of the grating, which main bars may be of rectangular cross sectionand are disposed in spaced parallel relationship with one another.Disposed crosswise of the main bars ill-Ill are the cross bars Il-i I.Said cross bars are illustrated as being of hexagonal cross sectionalcontour, though other shapes may be chosen if prei r ed. For practicalpurposes it is preferred, however, that each cross bar II should have anupward y presented edge .12 disposed in substantially the plane whichdefines the upper surfaces of the main. bars lll lll. 1 In other words,the c oss bars l2 -l 2 are setintc recesses in the main bars 19-40. andare preferably welded to said main b In Pr ctice it will doubtless be pe ferred to use cross bars ll -ll of hexagonal contour, inasmuch as thisis a common and commercially proourable shape. Said cross rs ll:' -Haredisbcsed in parallel spaced relation ship with one another atsubstantially right angles to the lonsitudinalbars ill-ill.

One method of assembly which may be em: uloyed is to dispose the crossbars il in posi tion o eng ge one edge of each oi said cross barsagainst the upper faces oi the main bars lll lll so that there is onlyline contact be ween said cross bars and the main bars. Pressure henapplied to the top of the cross bars while a flow of electric current isprovided between said tress bars and main bars. At the beginning of thelectric welding operation a quick heat is de veloped at the regions ofcontact between the cross bars and the main bars due to their limitedcontact areas. At the regions of intersection the bars becomesemi-molten, and the pressure ap plied to the cross bars pushes saidcross bars downwardly until the edges 12 thereof become aligned with thetop sides a! the main bars le--l 0. During this process the main bars10-10 and the cross bars li -ll are efieetually welded together at theirintersections. Any other means and/0r method may be employed tosecurethe cross bars and the longitudinal bars together.

According to the'present invention, each of the cross bars H is providedwith a notch I 3 presented upwardly of the grating. According to theembodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, this notch I3is V-shaped and extends from the upper edge i! to a region spaced fromthe bottom edge of the cross bar H. As shown in Figures 2, 3, 8 and 9,the notch 13 extends down approximately to the lower edges of thevertical sides of the hexagonal cross sectional contour of the cross barII. In other words, the notch l3 extends approximately to th planemarking the upper edges of the two bottom sloping sides of the hexagonaloutline of the cross bar H.

The notches I3 may be disposed substantially midway of adjacent mainbars Ill-I 0. In Figures 1, 2 and 3 the notches I3 are illustrated asbeing spaced apart along each cross bar II a distance substantiallyequal to the distance between every second pair of main bars 10. Inother words, according to the disclosure in Figures 1 and 3, adjacentnotches in each cross bar ii are spaced apart a distance substantiallyequal to twice the distance between adjacent main bars. It will beunderstood, of course, that the spacing of the notches 43-43 may bechosen as desired. For example, the spacing of the notches l3 may beequal to three times or four times or any preferred number of times thedistance between two adjacent main bars H]. In short, the spacing of thenotches i3 may be chosen as desired within rather wide limits. It ispreferred, however, that the spacing of the notches in each cross bar Hbe staggered with respect to the spacing of the notches in the nextadjacent'cross bar. However, this staggered relationship need not befollowed, and the invention is sufilciently broad to cover a spacingbetween notches equal to the distance between two adjacent main bars.

Figures 4,5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment of the present invention inwhich the cross bars are of rectangular cross section and the notches insaidcross bars are of rectangular cross section.

In said Figures 4, 5 and 6, main bars disposed in parallel relationshipwith each other are indicated by the numerals -20. Cross bars ofrectangular cross sectional contour are indicated by the numerals-2i-2l. Said cross bars 2|-2| are located in corresponding recesses inthe main bars 20-40 and are preferably welded to said main bars 2ll2ll.The cross bars 2l-2i are provided with notches 23-23, which in Figures4, 5 and Bare of rectangular contour, though this contour may bemodified within wide limits. It is preferred, however, that the contourof the notches H1 or 23 be such that relatively sharp edges are providedat the upper extremity of the corresponding cross bar. In the form ofthe invention illulstrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 it is preferred, justas in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, that the planesmarking the tops of the cross bars be substantially coincident with theplane marking the tops of the main bars. The

spacing of the notches'23 may be varied in the manner discussed above inconnection with the notches l3.

The disclosure in Figures 7, 8 and 9 is closely analogous to thedisclosure in Figures 1, 2 and 3. However, in Figures 7, 8 and 9 thecross bars iI-H, disposed transversely of the main bars iii-40, insteadof being at right angles to said main bars, are arranged diagonally withrelation to said main bars. Said cross bars il--li are provided with thenotches i3l3 disposed in the relationships described in connection withthe embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 3.

In each of the embodiments there is provided a grating which willpresent. a non-skid surface to the sole of the shoe of a person walkingthereon whether-said person is walking longitudinally, transversely ordiagonally with relation to the grating. I p p Y Among the advantagesinherent in the present invention are the following: Inasmuch as thecross bars are not completely severed, the result is obtained that eachof the main bars receives support from all of the other main bars in thegrating, said support being transmitted through the cross bars. In otherwords, the cross bars, not being completely severed, functionefiiciently as struts across the grating without sacriflcing thenon-skid features.

A further advantage is that by reason of the function of the cross barsin acting as struts, lateral movement between the main bars is avoided.

A further advantage accrues from the fact that the cross bars, beingpartly severed, have a certain amount of flexibility so that the gratingwill tendto lie flat upon its supports, thereby overcoming a difficultywith certain prior gratings which tended to Warp and to rock upon theirsupports.

It is intended to cover cross bars of a wide variety of shapes, notlimited to those illustrated, and to cover notches of a wide variety ofcontours and spacing, not limited to those illustrated.

Though certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed in detail, many modifications will occur to those skilled inthe art. It is intended to cover all such modifications that fall withinthe scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced main bars, and a pluralityof spaced cross bars arranged transversely of said main bars, said crossbars being hexagonal in cross section and being located to have edgesthereof uppermost and having notches in their tops but being unseveredbelow said notches, said notches extending approximately to the lowerside edges of said hexagonal cross bars.

2. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced main bars, and a pluralityof spaced cross bars arranged transversely of said main bars, said crossbars being hexagonal in cross section and being located'to have edgesthereof uppermost and having notches in their tops but being unseveredbelow said notches, the locations of the notches of each cross bar beingstaggered with relation to the notches in adjacent cross bars, saidnotches extending approximately to the lowerside edges of said hexagonalcross bars.

WALTER A. BATES.

REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,354,998 Paulson Oct. 5, 19202,184,407 Bates Dec. 26, 1939 2,322,965 McNeil June 29, 1943 2,384,303Heath Sept. 4, 1945

